Apocalypse
by Shax
Summary: Aliens return to Mobius, but these ones aren't so nice. (read Guests of Honor first)


APOCALYPSE 

Series 1 - The Origins   
Episode 13   
The series finale 

[Visit Shax's Virtual Den][1]   
[E-mail the author][2]

A pre-warning from the author: I wrote series 1 a very long time ago (two years! Wow!), so please forgive me if the thirteen stories of this series are nowhere near as well written as the future series'. These fics are shorter, and have bad punctuation and may have cornier or holier plotlines. They do introduce a lot of future characters and concepts, however. 

Part one - They Arrive 

PROLOGUE: 

It was a dark and stormy night; 

The asteroid shower lasted hours. It was only visible at night, but sensors revealed that it had been going for most of the day. The SWAT bots patrolling Robotropolis were brought inside, to avoid damage, because the falling debris was quite large, and had been falling to the ground like hail. Fortunately, the canopy of the Great Forest offered protection from the asteroids, so they did not hit Knothole Village with any great force. Still, the residents of the village stayed inside their huts. Asteroid showers were almost unheard of on Mobius, especially when they were large enough to make it through the atmosphere. But everyone remembered the last time an asteroid shower occurred. It had not been quite this serious, but the reason for the shower was the same. Something had to push it's way through the thick asteroid belt way out in space. Something heading towards mobius... 

Mecha Sonic entered Robotnik's office. "Sir, all systems are go for the shield." Robotnik smiled. "This time, Robotropolis will survive, and my SWAT bot armies shall not shut down! My anti-magnetism shield will see to it!" Mecha nodded and left the room, leaving Robotnik to mumble to himself. "Aah, yes!" he said. "Those pitiful Freedom Fighters asked them to return, and they agreed. But I am waiting for them, this time! I shall not fail again!" At that moment, Mecha re-entered the room. "A strange thing, sir, that you may be interested in." "Out with it, then!" replied Robotnik. "Sir, this shower is many times more intense than the last, indicating that the ship currently coming into orbit is many times larger than the last." Robotnik grinned. "Good." 

CHAPTER ONE: 

"Come on! We have to get this thing up before they arrive!" said Sonic, impatiently. He nailed one side of the 'Welcome' banner to one of the huts. "How do we know it's them?" asked Sally. She lifted her hammer to bang a nail in, but the head broke off, flew through the air, and stuck to a metal pole. "It's them." replied Sonic. 

"Magnetism increasing! Activate the shield NOW!" ordered Mecha. Packbell gripped the lever firmly, and pulled it down all the way. There was a clanking sound, and all of a sudden there was a feeling of pressure relief. Robotnik was in his kitchen, when all of a sudden, all the fridge magnets turned into ordinary hunks of metal, and fell to the ground. "Excellent!" he said to himself. 

Knuckles sat nervously in the corner of the room, watching Sonic and the others decorate. Sonic noticed him, and went over to ask what was wrong. "It's not the same." he said. "It's different, Sonic, it's all different." "What do you mean?" asked Sonic. "Last time they arrived, they came in a small ship. It hardly caused any disturbance at all, except for a little magnetism. But this time, it's... different." Sonic looked at the echidna strangely. "Different? How?" "There's more disturbance." replied Knux. "You saw those asteroids last night, they were as big as baseballs! And there were millions of them! And today... well..." He lifted up a small nail, and then let go. The nail whizzed out of the room, across the village, and hit the metal pole, landing just beside the broken hammer head. "The magnetism wasn't this powerful last time, Sonic." he said. "Don't be such a worry wart!" Sonic said, grinning. "I just don't like it." said Knux. "It is my nature to be a 'worry wart'. If I wasn't a 'worry wart', the Floating Island would have been destroyed years ago." 

Mecha Sonic trudged into Robotnik's room. "Sir, I have news that I think you should know." he said. "I'm listening." replied Robotnik. "Sir, the ship currently entering orbit is... well... considerably larger than expected." "How much larger?" asked Robotnik, interested. "Well, if sensors are correct, about the size of a moon." There was a short silence. "That's enough to inflict a gravitational force onto Mobius." Robotnik commented. "Yes." replied Mecha. "But there's more. Visual sensors indicate that the ship is of a much different design to our previous visitors. A design perfect for carrying weaponry." Robotnik's eyes widened. "You mean...?" "Yes." interrupted Mecha. "They might just attack us before we can attack them." 

Tails walked into Sonic's room, looking disoriented. "Sonic, my ears hurt!" he complained. Sonic walked up to the dizzy looking fox. "Uh-oh! Hope you're not getting a touch of the flu!" he said. He reached down to feel Tails' forehead for a fever, when his ears crackled. "Ouch!" he cried. "Now MY ears hurt!" He walked out of his hut, and saw several other villagers holding their ears in pain. "What's going on?" he called out, his ears crackling again. Sally walked up to him, flinching a little. "All of a sudden, everyone -OUCH!- has ear aches!" she said. "And they're getting worse!" Sonic felt light-headed. "What can cause mass ear aches?" he asked. "Gravity changes." came a voice from behind the hut. Sonic turned and S aw Knux, who was also holding the sides of his head in pain. "Changes in pressure, caused by sudden gravity change." Sonic looked around. "Why is gravity changing?" he asked. "It can be several things." replied Knux. "Either the planet is shrinking or growing, which is impossible, or a moon is leaving orbit." Sonic looked up at the moon, which was just on the horizon. "Still there." he said. "There is one more possibility." said Knux. "A moon could be _entering_ orbit." "Two moons?" asked Sonic. "Well, not necessarily a moon." replied Knux. "A satellite of some kind. It could be something that isn't natural." There was a long pause, then Sonic's ears crackled again. "Un-natural?" he asked. "Like what?" Knux just stared, and Sonic suddenly knew what he was talking about. "Why would KA1 want to bring a ship that size onto Mobius?" he asked. Knux just frowned and walked away. 

The giant battleship entered orbit, and the rockets shut off. A small compartment opened in the side, and a small ship (small in comparison to the mothership) came out, and headed for Mobius. The ship was dark red all over, with patches of black and dull yellow. It was long and relatively thin, with moveable wings flat against the side of the ship, apparently not used very often. The back had seven jets, spitting some kind of blue flame when activated. There was also a small yellow disc on the side of the ship, with a strange symbol on it, like a brand name on a toy. The ship drifted towards the planet, slowly at first, then picked up speed. 

CHAPTER TWO: 

Robotropolis was quiet when observed from the outside. Nothing moved. There was a few dead SWAT bots outside, who had failed to return to Robotropolis in time for the shield to be put up. But inside, there was a huge din. "MECHA!!!!" Robotnik screamed, hands clasping the sides of his head. Mecha entered the room. "The shield has some kind of side effect on me!" Robotnik wailed. "I CAN'T STAND THE PAAAAAAAIN!" Mecha looked un-disturbed. "The effect on humans is understandable." he said. "It is not an effect caused by the magnetism shield, it is rather the result of rapid pressure change due to gravity increase, most likely caused by the enormous ship entering orbit." Robotnik flinched. "I have more important information." Mecha continued. "WHAT!?!" Robotnik demanded. "The 'mothership' has stopped in orbit around Mobius, and a much smaller ship born from the mothership is entering the atmosphere as we speak." 

Sonic watched as the ball of flame flew through the sky. He cocked his head a little. Last time the Kallympians had visited, it had been a lot quicker to land, and the ship looked somewhat different. When it approached closer, Sonic noticed it was huge. Not to mention ugly. The combination of dark maroon and black somehow didn't appeal to him. It was longer and thinner - KA1's ship had been round and flat, not shaped like a spear. There was always the possibility of ships being a slightly different design, but why would they want to change design so dramatically? He stared at the yellow disc nailed to the side, with the alien symbol, as the ship slowly passed overhead. Even the symbol didn't seem like it was of Kallympian origin. Everything seemed so different... The ship positioned itself above an area of forest, then slowly lowered itself behind the trees. Everyone, cheering, went out to meet the KAs. Everyone except Knux, who was inside the meeting hall, punching a punching bag. 

The long, thin object hovered several inches off the ground, until strange landing gear appeared underneath, and the engine turned off. People began to crowd closer. A hatch began to open, and a platform came out. There was silence for a while, but then the shadows appeared in the darkness. They moved slowly. They became three individual figures. But... something didn't seem right. They looked different to the last time they visited... Then, as they emerged from the ship, everyone gasped in horror. Slugs. Hideous, slimy, slugs. There was no other way to describe them. They slithered along the ground using no visible legs, their eyes stuck out on stalks, and slime dripped from them onto the ground. This wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that they had arms. Big, strong arms. And each of them was using their arms to carry something. Huge, hi-tech, destructive looking guns. The largest alien stepped up to the villagers. "Fleeble." he announced. 

Streak, being rather brave, approached the giant slug. "Do you come in peace?" he asked. The slug glared at him. "My name is Streak the Cat... do you have a name?" still no reply. "Streak - the - Cat" Streak repeated, and he held out his hand to greet the alien. The other villagers were biting their fingernails. Slowly, the slug-alien held out a hand in reply. Streak smiled. "See? They're not hostile!" he called to the others. But, instead of shaking Streak's hand, the alien suddenly thrashed out, and grabbed Streak by the throat, and lifted him into the air. Sally screamed. Streak choked for breath, arms and legs thrashing. The alien held him firmly with one hand, and, putting down its gun, placed its other hand on his forehead. The cat began to glow in a yellow light. This lasted for twenty seconds, and then the alien threw him at least ten meters, hitting him against a tree. Sonic rushed to his aid, and the other villagers were screaming and wailing in terror. The alien picked up its gun, and fired it three times into the air. The loud blasts got the villagers' attention indefinitely. "Thanks to your friend, I now have a detailed understanding of your language." he announced. Judging by his voice, he was assumed to be a 'he'. "RESIDENTS OF MOBIUS!" he continued. "I am Rupture-Amon, leader of the fierce race of the Chichi-Bobo." there was a short silence, as if Rupture expected everyone to bow down before him. "I have come here, not on the intention of killing you." he continued. "Instead, I have come for the echidna. Deliver him, and you shall be spared your petty lives." 

"Echidna?" thought Sonic. "Does he mean Knux?" he thought about it for a second. He knew that strange characters like these wouldn't want to merely have a conversation with Knux, they'd be more likely to chain him up in a dark cell and torture him. He decided to lie. "We don't have any echidnas here!" he called. Rupture glared at Sonic. "No use attempting to protect him." he said coldly. "Scanners indicate that he is in the direct vicinity. Scanners never fail. Either you deliver him, or we take action." Suddenly, a figure stepped up to the slugs. "Here I am." he said. It was Sage. "What do you want with me?" Rupture didn't reply, he just looked him over. At last, he pushed Sage out of the way. "You are not the one." he said. "You do not bare the mark of the crescent." Sage looked down at the oval design on his belly, resembling Sonic's. "We have come for the crescent echidna!" Rupture yelled. "This is your last chance! Either he approaches the ship THIS MINUTE, or we shall be forced to act." There was a long silence. Finally, Rupture turned to his allies. "Flaggle leer moor fobb tro ka." he announced. The other slugs seemed excited at this. Sonic's mind began to wander. "What do they mean by 'take action'?" 

Knux watched from the top of the trees. He saw everything, from Streak being attacked, to the strange conversation between the slugs. He lowered his binoculars, turned and spat into the bushes below. "You want me? Come and get me." he said to himself. The slugs began to push their way through the crowd, and then onward towards Knothole. Knux frowned. "I knew there was too much similarity." he said. He thought of the stone tablet he had found. It said everything that had happened the day of the echidnas' disappearance. When the Kallympians visited, the exact same thing had happened as said on the tablet, but they were not the ones that kidnapped his ancestors. The echidna had been waiting for this day. He had not told any of the Freedom Fighters, not even Sonic, about what KA1 had said to HIM that day, therefore, nobody except Knux knew the actual reason the kind aliens had visited exactly three months earlier... 

_ ***flashback*** _

Knux knew the aliens were going to leave soon. He had never spoken to them, but now, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He had to know what connection these humanoids had with his ancestors. Sonic, Streak and Sally had gone to Robotropolis to rescue one of them from Mecha, and the other villagers were in Knothole talking to the other aliens, but Knux could see the 'Supreme Ambassador', KA1, behind the trees, apparently preparing his ship for the journey back to Kallympus. It was now or never. Hesitantly, Knux stepped through the trees. He cleared his throat to get KA1's attention. KA1 stopped what he was doing, and looked up at Knux. "I have expected you, Knuckles." he said. Knux was surprised. "How did you know my name?" "Our entire purpose of visiting your planet was to warn you." replied KA1. "Warn me of what?" asked Knux. "No time to explain in detail." said KA1. "When KA12 arrives, we shall leave immediately. I will say only this: When the molluscs arrive, press the red button." he handed Knuckles a strange device with a small red button on top. "What does it do?" he asked. "No time." KA1 replied. "This is a matter that involves only you, so only your ears should hear of it. When your friends ask, do not tell them of this conversation, nor of the device. Tell them we came only to re-fuel our ship, nothing more. It is for your own safety. Remember what I told you, Knuckles, if you fail, many are doomed. 

*************** 

Knux knew he had to press the button on the machine, now. If these weren't 'molluscs', he didn't know what they were. But, suddenly, he felt the urge to research it first - if these creatures had something to do with his ancestors, he had to find out exactly what they want, and he may not have gotten the chance to find out if he pressed the button straight away. He made his decision, as he saw the slugs enter Knothole. He jumped and glided to the next tree to get a better look. 

The slugs entered the first hut they saw, and began eating all the food. What they didn't eat, they smashed. Some more slugs came out of the spaceship, and began looting the village. Sonic was dumfounded. "What are you doing?" he asked. One of the slugs turned around. "Plan #2954.A - Plunder the city." "But WHY?" Sonic asked. The largest slug, Rupture, obviously a very important leader, turned around with a malicious grin. "We want answers, blue one! And we will continue to destroy this village, and then the entire forest, and then the PLANET, until somebody spills the beans on where the crescented echidna is!" he let out a short laugh, then continued eating. Sonic sighed. If it wasn't for those big guns they carried, the villagers could do something about this, but they were all too scared. And he wasn't about to let the cat - or the echidna - out of the bag, because these aliens probably wouldn't be too hospitable to Knux... 

Sage tiptoed past the huts containing the slugs, so he could get his bow and arrows without being seen. Suddenly, out of the shadows, a figure leaped out, put one arm around his chest and the other hand over his mouth. He tried to yell, but because of the hand, he couldn't. He was dragged back into the shadows, and a voice whispered in his ear: "Don't yell, it's Knuckles." Knuckles let go of Sage, and they both sank into the darkness. "These aliens want something from you, Knux." Sage whispered. "I know." replied Knux. "I need you to to do something for me." "Anything for my best bud!" replied Sage. "Find out exactly what they want" Knux continued. "I'll always be around the village somewhere, out of sight. Find out why they want me, then make sure you aren't followed, come find me, and tell me." Sage nodded, and sneaked out of the shadows. He looked both ways, then tiptoed to his hut, found his bow and arrows, strapped the arrow bag to his back, then left to find Sonic. 

CHAPTER THREE: 

Rupture was sitting at a table in Sally's hut, gnawing at a chicken leg. Sally watched in horror. Her hut was ruined. Suddenly, Sonic and Sage walked in, and sat across the table from the slug. Rupture wiped his mouth with the tablecloth. "Ready to spill the beans? Pity, I'm still hungry!" "What do you want with an echidna?" Sonic demanded, trying his best to make it sound like he didn't know any crescented echidnas. Rupture took another bite, then threw the meat across the room. "Get me a sandwich!" he demanded Sally. She hesitated, but then Rupture held up his gun, and she agreed. Then the slug turned back to Sonic and Sage. "Experimentation, of course!" "What kind of experiments?" Sage asked. "I know you know this guy." interrupted Rupture. "So you already know that this echidna is the last of his strain." He took a bite out of a tomato. "When we were preparing to return, to see how the experiment was going, we realized that we made a mistake. We were supposed to leave _two_ families 50 years ago, instead of one. We already had planned the families to stay - one had a female who was pregnant with a boy, the other had a female who was pregnant with a girl. Unfortunately, one of the operators foolishly took the girl-baring family on board as well. We recently shot him, and fed him to the Ghooplgs." Sonic looked at the slug strangely. "What do you mean? I don't get any of this! What are these experiments?" Rupture ignored the question, and kept talking. "To prevent our experiment from failing, we need the echidna to return, and mate with the designated echidna female, to produce a new generation of offspring. I'd be surprised if he isn't hideously deformed, though. It's amazing what side effects radiation has with a suspended fetus." He took another bite of the tomato. Sonic began to grow impatient. "MAKE MORE SENSE!" he demanded. "What fetus? What experiments? Where are you taking Knux?" Rupture smiled. "Is his name 'Knux', eh? I knew you knew him." Sonic, in anger, had let the cat out of the bag. Now Rupture knew that the echidna was definitely in the village. "You can still tell us the story in more detail, slug." said Sage. Suddenly, Sally returned with a very rushed sandwich. Rupture grabbed it, and ate three quarters with one bite. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and strange foam began to emerge from his mouth. "YOU IDIOT!!!!!!" he screamed. He grabbed the squirrel, and threw her across the room. He shot at her, but barely missed her head. Then, instead of taking another shot, he ran out of the room. "Funny" said Sally, rubbing the back of her head. "I thought a slug would enjoy a B.L.T.!" 

Sonic silently searched the village for Knux. He wouldn't dare call out, because Rupture now knew his name was Knuckles, and would know straight away if he heard someone yelling it. He came across Streak, who was trying his best to keep out of the slugs' way. After his encounter with Rupture, he definitely didn't want to mess with the aliens. "Have you seen Knux?" Sonic asked, almost silently. Streak was about to answer, when he saw a group of slugs sit very nearby. "Ehind bay ally's say ut hay, in ay he tay ushes bay." he said. Sonic looked at him strangely. Streak cocked his head, motioning towards the slugs. "ig pay atin lay!" he said. Sonic suddenly understood that Streak was talking in pig latin. "Oh, okay" he said. "An cay ou yay i ve gay e may a ay ignal say if ay I ay am ay eing bay ollowed fay?" Streak nodded, and Sonic set off. 

"What are _you_ doing here?" asked Knux. "Sage sent me to tell you." Sonic replied. "He wanted to stay back and keep an eye on the slugs." Knuckles nodded. "Did you find out what they want?" he asked. "Yes and no." Sonic replied. "We asked Rupture, and he spilled his guts. Only problem is, he said a whole lot of gibberish." He repeated to Knux everything he heard from the slug. Knux thought very hard about it all, but he couldn't figure it out, either. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "The slugs out-number us two to one, and they all have all those guns!" Sonic shrugged, sadly. Suddenly, Knuckles' eyes widened. "I nearly forgot!" he cried. "Help me sneak out of Knothole! I have to go home!" Sonic looked at him strangely. "What is on the Floating Island that can possibly help us?" "JUST TRUST ME!" Knux exclaimed. "Get Sage, we could use his help. Just try and clear a path out of Knothole, and we'll meet at the hidden teleporter in fifteen minutes!" 

CHAPTER FOUR: 

There was a flash of blue behind the trees. The gentle whirring of the alien craft was just enough to cover the sound of the entity's movements. Two red dots appeared behind the bush. "All clear." came a voice. Mecha Sonic stepped out, and looked the craft over. "Very impressive!" he said. He admired the colour scheme. Black on crimson. He whipped out a two-way radio. "Send down a fleet of technician droids to co-ordinates 11833-7349. I need assistance in a..... hijacking job." 

Sonic and the two echidnas stepped out of the bright blue light, and onto the surface of the Floating Island. They were at the teleporter deep inside Hidden Palace. "What are we doing here?" asked Sage. "Close your eyes" replied Knux. "Huh?" asked Sonic. "Close your eyes!" repeated Knuckles. "I need to open one of my secret passages, and my secret passages are a _secret_!" Sonic shrugged, and he and Sage turned around. They heard a click behind them, and then a slide. A minute later, Knux approached them with a small box. It was a strange looking object with a button on top. "This gets weirder and weirder, Knux." said Sonic. Knux didn't reply. Instead, he placed the box on the floor of the cave. "Now, let's see what happens." he said. Slowly, he reached down, and pressed the button. Nothing happened at first, but then, suddenly, the box began to vibrate. Then a beam of light projected an image onto the wall. "KA1!" Sonic announced in surprise. It was an image of the leader of the Kallympans, KA1. "Greetings, Knuckles." he said. "KA1! Nice to see you again! How are you?" asked Knux. "No need to talk to it." said Sonic. "It came from that box, it's just a pre-recorded message. I guess we just sit back and listen to what..." "I am well, Knuckles, how are you?" asked the image of KA1. Sonic stopped talking, but his mouth remained open. "You can hear me?" asked Knuckles. "Of course!" replied KA1. "By pressing the button on the projector, you signalled me right here in my palace on Kallympus! You are speaking to me live. I expect the warning I gave you has come to pass?" "Yes." replied Knux. "The 'molluscs', as you called them, have arrived, and are tearing up the village!" KA1 turned his head and frowned slightly at Sonic and Sage. Even though he had no eyes, he could apparently 'see' the three of them. "I thought we were going to confine this matter to you only." he said. Knux blushed a little. "I...thought I may need help on whatever happened..." KA1 smiled. "That is satisfactory. The hedgehog and echidna should not cause any trouble. Greetings Sonic. Greetings Sagittarius." "Hi" said Sonic and Sage in unison. "Who are they?" asked Knux. KA1 sighed a little. I suppose we should have informed you on our last visit, but we had little time. The invaders call themselves the Chichi Bobo. They are a civilization which resides very close to our home Kallympia. On a previous encounter with them, they stole our magnetic flight technology, and used it on their own ships. The Chichi Bobo are infamous for their...." he hesitated. "Biological experimentations." 

Knux's heart skipped a beat. "A while ago, we detected a large mothership from their home planet, which was heading slowly towards Mobius. Knowing that they would be after you, Knuckles, we warped to your planet first, and gave you that device, so we shall guide you when they invade." "But _why_?" asked Knux. "Why _me_? Why are they after me?" KA1 seemed to want to avoid the subject. "It is a long and tiring story, and you need every second. You see, the Chichi Bobo are much too lazy to look for you themselves. They would much prefer to force an answer from the village. After they finish looting your village, they will begin to... kill the villagers one by one. Only when everyone is dead, will they decide to find you the hard way. Also, if someone were to tell them the location of your island to stop the torture, your island is in much danger. Every second is precious. Now, listen to me carefully. The KA's, including myself, are unable to assist you in defeating the Chichi Bobo. They are ruthless warriors, and even powerful entities like ourselves do not know the secret. Only one being is known to us to have the knowledge and experience with the Chichi Bobo to contain the s secret of destroying them. Unfortunately, he is an infamous intergalactic criminal. You shall have to befriend him before he shall be willing to assist you." "No sweat!" said Sonic. "I can befriend anyone, no matter how mean!" "Good!" replied KA1. "Step onto the teleporter behind you. It has just been altered to take you to the far away planet, Terran. Our sensors have detected him somewhere around the area of the teleportation target. You may have to search around." "It would be easier if we knew this guy's name!" said Sage. "Oh, how absent minded of me!" KA1 chuckled "I believe he goes by the name 'Dominatrek'. Good luck in your quest!" With that, the recording vanished. 

Sonic and Knuckles' hearts sank. "Did he say 'Dominatrek?'" stuttered Sonic. "Oh, NO!" sobbed Knux. "How are we going to be buddies with HIM? He hired us to win him a war, and we abandoned him! Because of that, he probably lost the war and went to jail! I can't believe that our lives are depending on him!" Sonic sighed. "Murphy's law" he said. "Just our luck that the one guy in the universe who knows the secret to defeating these guys is an intergalactic criminal whom we have already met, sworn at, and abandoned!" Sage shrugged. "I guess I don't have to worry, _I_ have never met this guy before! Maybe I could help..." Sonic turned to the faintly glowing teleporter. "Who's first?" he asked. 

Part two: Dominatrek 

CHAPTER FIVE: 

The fog was thick. Sonic thought that he would be able to carve it, spread it on a sandwich, eat it, and feel too full for lunch. He looked around. Through the mist, he could see the shapes of his colligues, Sagittarius and Knuckles. "I can't see a thing! Let's move somewhere clearer!" he said. The others agreed, and they walked away, holding hands to prevent losing each other. Sage quickly felt to make sure his arrows were still strapped on his back. The fog slowly began to clear. "So what are we going to tell Mr. Power-crazy when we meet him?" Asked Sonic. Knux shrugged. "Maybe we beg him for mercy and hail him as a god?" Sonic shivered. "There _has_ to be another way!" They all looked around. "Looks like an abandoned planet, to me." he said. As far as they could see, there was not a single animal. There were plants, though. Millions of them. This planet was pretty much a Utopia. Lush rainforest covered the landscape as far as the eye could see. "This place is beautiful!" said Knuckles. "I wonder if there is any intelligent life?" Suddenly, they saw some kind of vehicle come over the hill. It looked like some kind of hi-tech jeep. It pulled up just beside the trio. Sonic looked through the window, but he couldn't see the driver. Suddenly, a booming voice came from inside the jeep. "You are un-registered biological life forms, and un-native to Terran. All intergalactic tourists must report to Registration immediately, or be placed in a holding pen until further action may be taken." there was silence for a little while. "I think it's a robot!" said Knux. "I am Patrol Officer 234, serial number 609-A74. I am a super efficiant bionic law enforcer created by the Council of Peace to eliminate crime and restore order to the planet. Citizens of Terran who break the law will be.." The robot continued to talk for a few minutes. "So he's a cop?" asked Sonic. "Guess so..." replied Knux. "Do you think he knows where we can find Dominatrek?" Sonic turned back to the vehicle. "We are looking for someone." The robot halted what it was saying, and said something else. "My database includes every intelligent creature currently registered on Terran. I am programmed to keep track of every registered creature. There are currently 46 million residents on Terran. 25 million are native to Terran. 14 Million are from Grakkon. 17 million are from..." "His name is Dominatrek." Sonic interrupted. "Please wait." said the robot. The droid began to make strange churning noises. After a while he said "Match found. The life form known as Dominatrek was registered on the 17/25/65/65432." "Is that a date?" asked Sage. Sonic shrugged. The robot continued. "His position is currently: Unknown. Dominatrek was registered as a criminal, and recently imprisoned for crimes against the universe. He recently illegally broke out of prison. He has been seen once since his break out. He was last seen around this area, accompanied with an unknown life form, assumed to be unintelligent, however un-native to Terran. This being has no more recorded information. He is rated as a criminal, and labelled 'armed and dangerous'. All criminals should be reported to the Council of Peace immediately if seen. They should not be approached. If you are approached by a criminal, follow these instructions..." The robot continued to talk, but Sonic, Knuckles and Sage walked away. "So, he broke out of jail, eh?" asked Knux. "Crimes against the universe - that sounds pretty bad!" said Sage. "He's not going to be easy to find, especially since he's hiding from the police." said Sonic. "Where will we begin?" They looked around. There were a million places Dominatrek could hide. They decided to search every one of them. They didn't know just how little effort they would need to put into finding the criminal. 

Knux walked quickly ahead, admiring the rainforest. Sonic and Sage lagged along behind, sweltering in the heat. Suddenly, Sonic propped up his ears. "I can hear running water!" he announced. Before Knux could stop them, Sonic and Sage were rushing towards the sound. They found a rushing stream. Sonic put his entire head underwater, and Sage splashed water on his face. "That's better!" he said. Knux just sat on a rock. "This planet is exraordinary!" he said. "The inhabitants are obviously extremely advanced, yet the vegetation is completely intact! The inhabitants must be very careful not to upset nature too much!" Then he heard a noise behind him. A hooded figure was drinking at the stream. It was Dominatrek. 

CHAPTER SIX: 

Dominatrek glanced up, and shuddered. "What the where the why the how the hell?!?" "Well, that was easy!" said Knux. "YOU!!!" screamed Dominatrek. "I don't think he's happy" Sage said. "Uh... Long time no see!" said Sonic. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FOOLS!" Dominatrek replied. "LOOK AT ME! Because of you, I'm stuck in this boiling hot forest, I lost my spaceship, I lost my workers, I lost _everything_!" "Well, we've come to... uh... apologise. And to ask a favour." said Sonic. Dominatrek stared in disbelief for a few seconds, then his mouth turned up into a smile. "You abandoned me in my hour of need, and you have come to ask me a _favour_?" Knux butted in. "Excuse me, but you kidnapped a bunch of raptors, attemted to rule the universe, started a war, kidnapped _us_, expected us to do something that would mean us dooming our planet and ourselves, and you think we _abandoned_ you? More like _escaped_ you! You got yourself into this!" "GO AWAY!" screamed Dominatrek. He ran into the forest. Sonic, Sage and Knux ran after him, determined to get him to talk. They cornered him when he tripped over in the bushes. "What do you want with me?" he demanded. "We think you know the secret to defeating an alien race known as the 'Chichi Bobo'." replied Knuckles. Dominatrek stopped whining. "What do you know of the Chichi Bobo?" he asked. "They attacked our village!" replied Sonic. Dominatrek sighed. "Probably something to do with their experiments." he said. Knuckles' interest was once again captured. "What experiments?" he asked. "I TELL YOU NOTHING!" replied Dominatrek. He stumbled to his feet, and began to run again. But he got his cape caught on a tree branch, and stumbled over again, tearing off the cape, and the hood that covered his head. Sonic and Knuckles managed to get a good look at his head, for the first time. Then they realised something about the old man that they had never known. His forehead began at his nose. He had no eyes. He was a Kallympian. 

"You're a Kallympian!" yelled Knux. Dominatrek sat down. "Yes, I am." he replied. "Unfortunately. My _real_ name, if you would call it that, is KA2. I used to be second in charge, behind that idiot KA1. I hated my own race, they were so nice, and they dedicated themselves to helping the rest of the universe. They made me sick. Naturally, I had plans of my own, and they _didn't_ involve helping anyone. I was repulsed at the thought that a potential ruler of the universe like myself belonged to such a pitiful race. So, I wore a hood to hide my racial origins, and changed my name. Since I had plans to become a 'reckless dominator', I changed my name to Dominatrek. Then, all I needed was a fake story. I simply said I came from a far away planet, with an advanced civilisation. To prevent anyone from tracking down my past, I even said that my planet took an 'open orbit', so that it would be impossible to find my make believe civilisation. Then, I stole a powerful Kallympian transporter device, kidnapped some workers from a planet called 'Earth', and attempted to take over the galaxy. Then, I met up with these aliens on a planet called Nobex 8, and they were part of some dumb sissy Kallympian-like sect called the Council of Peace. The rest you know. After you decided to abandon me, the authorities on Nobex 8 took me to this planet, which is apparently the Council of Peace headquarters, or something. I was put in jail, but luckily for me, my one and only _loyal_ raptor returned, and busted me out. We've been in hiding together ever since. He's out hunting right now, but when he returns, I'll command him to rip you traitors to shreds!" Sage made a funny face. Knux sat down beside Dominatrek. "Please... tell me more about the Chichi Bobo." He had realised, since Dominatrek told his life story, that it would probably be possible for him to eventually get him to tell about how to defeat the Chichi Bobo. Dominatrek smiled. "I can tell you now... If you are haggling with the Chichi Bobo, you're likely to die." 

Dominatrek tied his hood back around his head. "I take it that KA1 didn't tell you about them? Typical. That loser always makes things so classified. He never tells anyone anything." "How did you know we know KA1?" asked Sonic. "I just know." replied Dominatrek. "If you are having problems with the Chichi Bobo, it would almost definately be KA1 who sent you here. He knows that I can wipe them out. Since you have me trapped here, I may as well tell you what I know about them. I'm already in enough trouble for what I know. The Chichi Bobo are power hungry maniacs. So much so, that they remind me of me. The leader, I believe he calls himself SUPREME Supreme Commander Oooze, is dedicated to his belief that the Chichi Bobo are the highest forms of life in the universe. And because of that, all other creatures that challenge their intellect should be eliminated. In other words, his supreme goal is to wipe out all forms of life with intelligence. I believe the first time they announced war was around four thousand years ago. Neither I, nor KA1, nor Oooze were alive then, but Oooze's great grandfather was. The Chichi Bobo have some of the longest life spans in the known universe. Around six hundred years. Although, because of their special treatment, the SUPREME Supreme Commanders can live for a thousand. Anyhow, the closest civilisation to the Chichi Bobo is Kallympus, so that was the target of their first attack. We are a couple of thousand years more advanced than them, however, so we were able to defend ourselves. They wiped out half of our population, but we wiped out three quarters of theirs. It was then that the Chichi Bobo realised that them and their warships were not enough to face entire planets without mass fatalities, so they decided that they would find a way not to do the hard work. They knew they needed machines that could think and fight on their own. They tried, but they couldn't create artificial intelligence that was efficiant enough. So, they started a new science, and began to experiment with biology. They wanted to create their own living warriors. They called in their best scientists, and it wasn't too long before they managed to create a living cell. They were on a roll, and eventually managed to create organisms. I believe their first successful organism was a dog-like creature. Then, they knew that they would have to make creatures that would be as strong as machines. But flesh didn't make very good armor. They tried creating creatures with bony armor, and even dressed some in armor. But, to this day, they are still attempting to create the perfect organism. Or so we believe. For the last three thousand years, a shield has been in place around the Chichi Bobo planet, 'Kha'. It blocks radar and sattelite images. Nobody knows what has been taking place on Kha. Oh, boy. I bet it would be a freak show down there. All those reject mutant creatures. They would probably be grotesquely deformed, too." he let out a strange giggle. "You know, a couple of thousand years ago, some Kallympian scouts managed to sneak through the shield, and claimed they saw the experiments. The transmissions we recieved sounded like they were scared solid. They said something about the Chichi Bobo breeding huge monsters made out of liquid. We must have heard them wrong, though. You can't give life to liquid. But, whatever they _really_ meant, we do know that those slugs are breeding something, and it could be close to their 'perfect organism'." 

The three listened almost hypnotically to Dominatrek's story. Suddenly, Knux snapped. "SO THOSE JERKS KIDNAPPED MY FAMILY TO DO EXPERIMENTS!?!" Dominatrek frowned. "I don't know anything about that! I don't know, and can't say I care, about what happened to your family, or anything else that happens on your insignificant little planet! You caught me, discovered I was a Kallympian, got my life story and found out what the Chichi Bobo are. Are you happy, now? CAN I GO BACK TO MY LIFE?!?" "One more thing!" replied Sonic. "We heard that you know how to defeat them." Dominatrek grinned. "And why should I tell you?" he asked. "'Cos we asked you nicely." replied Sage. Dominatrek lifted himself up, and brushed off. "I could hardly care less about your stupid little problems. You can work out how to deal with them yourself. Now, you had better run along before Shred finds you!" he grinned evilly. "Shred?" asked Knux. "Yes!" replied Dominatrek. "That's the name of my raptor! And if he sees you, you will wish you have never been born!" Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them. "AAH!" said Dominatrek. "That must be him, now! Looks like you won't have a chance to save your planet, anyway!" 

CHAPTER SEVEN: 

The three were about to run, but they stopped when they realised what was making the noise. It was a tiny little robot thing. Dominatrek seemed to freeze in fear. The robot scanned him, and made strange chittering sounds. "AAAACK!" Dominatrek screamed. "What's wrong? What is that?" asked Sonic. The tiny robot looked like it was too small for anyone to be scared of it. Suddenly, it began to transform into a box shape. When the transformation was complete, it emitted a noise so loud that it made Sonic, Sage and Knuckles block their ears. Almost instantly, about ten of the robotic police jeeps surrounded the three Mobians and Dominatrek. One of them approached the Kallympian. "You are hereby under arrest for one count of prison break." Another jeep extended an arm, and tied Dominatrek's hands behind his back. "Congratulations, life forms, you have captured a level 3 felon." it said. Dominatrek scowled at them as the robots escorted him off. "BUT WAIT!" Knux yelled. The robots didn't stop. Knux sighed. "Normally, I'd be happy if I caught a criminal. Only thing is, he never told us what we wanted to know!" "Any suggestions?" asked Sonic. 

"I can't believe we're doing this!" whispered Sage, as the trio sneaked around a corner in the concrete fortress. "I usually try to prevent interfearing with intergalactic affairs!" They had followed Dominatrek's captors to a strange prison-like fortress in the middle of nowhere. "We have to do this!" replied Sonic. "It's the only way we'll _ever_ find out how to destroy the Chichi Bobo!" Sage made a funny face. "But what if we get caught?" he asked. "I mean, do we have to do something as illegal as actually breaking someone out of jail? _WE_ could be the next inmates!" Sonic didn't reply. He began searching for the cell where Dominatrek was taken. Suddenly, they came to a literal army of robot soldiers. The soldiers blocked entry to the prison cells. "Now what?" asked Knuckles. Sonic looked around the hallway, looking for any detours around the robots. He noticed a small door. The three carefully opened the door, and looked inside. It was a small, cramped office. There was a desk and a chair - papers were all over the top of the desk in a random fashion. Knux shrugged. "This is no use to us." he said. Sonic looked around for anything useful. He caught a glimpse of the ceiling, and grinned. "Can we all fit in that?" he asked. Knux and Sage followed his gaze. Where the wall met the ceiling, there was a small vent. Sonic climbed on the desk, and stretched up. Grabbing the vent, he pulled it out of the wall. The three in turn stepped up on the desk, climbed into the vent and crawled down the air-conditioning shaft. Sage, last to enter, attached the vent back over the hole. Almost immediately, two robot soldiers entered the office. The tallest one took a look around, then turned to the shorter one and said "You need your scanners fixed." 

It was pure luck that the ventilation system went to every prison cell. The vents were so high in the cell walls that the police must have assumed that the criminals could not escape through the vents. They never thought that someone would come through the other end. Eventually, they reached the cell of the infamous Dominatrek. The Kallympian slumped on the chipped stone bed that was found in every cell. "Psssssst" whispered Sonic, through the vent. Dominatrek looked up, and gasped. "YOU!" he yelled. "You have been the cause of my capture TWICE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" "SHHH!" whispered Sonic, hoarsely. "We have come to break you out!" He removed the vent, and stretched his arm. "Hold on, I'll pull you up." Dominatrek hesitantly raised his own arm, and Sonic lifted him into the vent. They crawled through until they reached a vent that was above them, sunlight streaming in. Sonic removed them, and they found themselves climbing out of the air conditioning system outside the building. Dominatrek sighed. "I guess I owe you one." "How about telling us how to defeat the Chichi Bobo?" Knuckles asked without hesitation. Dominatrek thought for a while. "Salt." he said, finally. "Huh?" asked Sonic. "Salt." replied Dominatrek, loudly. "That is the easiest of only a few things you can use against them. They are such a ruthless race that very few believe that something as common as salt can destroy them. On their planet, there is no salt, and their skin has adapted to become moist. They cannot breathe without moist skin. Salt absorbs moisture. If you have enough salt, you can quite literally make a Chichi Bobo implode." Knuckles stared, dumfounded. "That's it?" he asked. Dominatrek nodded. "Makes sense." replied Sonic. "When we were talking to the leader recently, he ate one of Sally's bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, and he ran out of the hut furious. I know from experiene that Sally always makes her bacon extra-extra salty." Knuckles grinned. "Chichi Bobo, prepare to die!" he said. They said farewell to Dominatrek, and wandered into the forest to find the teleporter. When they stepped on, they were instantly transported to the outside of Knothole. "So where will we get salt from?" asked Sonic. Knuckles shrugged. They wandered into the village. It was in a terrible state. Most of the village had been completely trashed and was almost unrecognisable. The slug aliens swarmed everywhere. "If KA1 was right, it won't be long until those slugs start killing people!" said Sonic. Then, there was the sound of a gunshot behind him, and Knuckles went limp. Rupture emerged from the bushes to claim his prize, grinning from ear to ear. 

"MEMBERS OF THE CHICHI BOBO - LISTEN NOW TO ME." Rupture announced. In one of his hands, was Knuckles, unconcious. He had been hit in the face with a force weapon, and was badly injured. All the Chichi Bobo stopped what they were doing, and listened to their leader. "I NOW HAVE WHAT I ORIGINALLY TRAVELLED HERE FOR." he continued. "THE ECHIDNA IS NOW IN MY POSSESSION. DURING OUR VISIT, I HAVE REALISED HOW QUICKLY THIS PLANET'S LIFE FORMS HAVE EVOLVED. THEY ARE BUILDING CITIES, THEY HAVE LASER WEAPONS AND TRUE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. IT WILL NOT BE LONG UNTIL THEY BECOME INTERESTED IN, AND MASTER, SPACE TRAVEL. THEREFORE, I AM PUTTING THIS PLANET UNDER LEVEL THREE TERMINATION URGENCY." Some of the other slugs gasped. Rupture grinned, and continued his speech. "WE NO LONGER HAVE USE FOR THIS PLANET, NOW THAT WE HAVE ALL THE NESSECARY ECHIDNA SPECIMINS. BEFORE OUR DEPARTURE, I SHALL BRING TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MOTHERSHIP MY DECISION FOR A TERMINATION URGENCY THREE. THAT MEANS THAT UPON OUR DEPARTURE, THE CHICHI BOBO WILL TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN WIPING ALL LIFE FROM THIS PLANET, AND CLAIMING IT UNDER CHICHI BOBO RULE." 

CHAPTER EIGHT: 

Sonic was miserable, dumfounded, shocked and helpless. Rupture-Amon, leader of the Chichi Bobo attack force on Mobius, had just announced that the planet was to be destroyed. He kept a firm hold on Knuckles, who was unconcious. He had been hit in the face with a force weapon. The Chichi Bobo wanted to take him away, most likely for the biological tests that had been mentioned by Dominatrek - the criminal on the planet Terran. Yes, this was a bad situation. Rupture was sneaky enough to capture Knux as soon as he entered the village. And the slug-aliens now had no 'use' for the planet Mobius. 

"How could it happen?" asked Sonic, tears in his eyes. "After all that, they still captured Knux! We went through all that trauma, and for what? They got Knuckles, an' they're gonna take him away, and they're gonna destroy the planet, while they're at it!" Sage put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Don't worry Sonic. This is a bad situation, but we'll get out of it, we always do." Sonic looked up at him, doubtfully. Sage had never seen him so low. Of course, HE was also just as upset. Knux - the only other echidna except for his family on the Chaos Isle - was his best friend in the world. "How will we stop an entire alien civilisation?" asked Sonic. For once, he was out of ideas. "We'll pull through." insisted Sage. "Remember that time we had to stop that crazy machine on Floating Island?" Sonic remembered. When he and Knux had descovered and activated the mysterious weapon in Sky Sanctuary, it nearly destroyed Mobius. Sonic alone had saved the planet. It was then that the strange song re-entered Sonic's head. He could never remember where it came from, or what it was supposed to mean - all he knew was that it gave him strength every time it appeared in his head. This time, he could clearly 'hear' a part of the song that he didn't often hear. It said something like "Mr. Bad's got it good, but this ain't his neighbourhood, he's taking over, no no. From the dark to the light, it's a supersonic flight, gotta keep it going!" Sonic looked up at Sage. "You're right." he said. "There is still hope. Knux still hasn't left the planet, and the aliens don't have the dynamite placed yet. We can right both wrongs, if we act quickly." Sage smiled. "That's the spirit!" he said. "Now listen, I think I have an idea. It seems that Rupture is the only alien who has power over whether Mobius exists or not, and whether or not Knux stays in captivity. Therefore, he is the one who we must threaten. They hate salt, right? How about we gather up all the salt in Knothole, and use it to get to Rupture, and then we use it to threaten Rupture, and blackmail him into freeing Knux and sparing the planet." Sonic thought. "Well, there are a lot of things that can go wrong." he said. "But any plan is better than no plan, and especially when we have such a short time to think. Come on!" The two ran off to find Knothole's salt. 

Another one of the ugly ships slowly entered Mobius' atmosphere. This one was smaller, and more rounded than the other one. (speaking of which, Rupture had been too busy plotting to even realise that his ship was gone. It had been silently taken from the forest earlier that day, and despite its massive size, nobody noticed a thing) Sally finally gathered the courage to confront Rupture, when the second ship touched down. "What are you going to do?" she demanded. Rupture turned to her and grinned. A hatch opened, and six slug-aliens emerged, each carrying a glass container. Rupture took one and inspected it. "See this?" he asked. One slimy finger pointed to something inside the container. It was floating in the center, as if caught in anti-gravity. Sally nodded. "It's a hyper-nutrino." Rupture continued. "A special element found only in the deepest depths of space. Right now, it is held in a total vaccuum, and do you know why?" Sally shook her head gently, mesmerised by the thing in the container. It was blue, just smaller than a marble, and it throbbed with energy every so often. Rupture took away the container, 'tsk tsk'ing, as if to say how ignorant she was. "The instant a hyper-nutrino comes in contact with even one oxygen molecule, it will bond with it, and go into ultimate transmogriphication. We only need six, accurately placed in the right areas on the surface of your planet, and when they are released, let's just say that your planet may be feeling a little.... fragmented." Sally gasped. "You have two asteroid belts, right?" asked Rupture. Sally nodded. Rupture grinned. "Well, this will make three." he turned to his collegues, and handed the container to one of them. Another five slugs already held containers. "GO NOW!" commanded Rupture. "Operation codename: BLAMMO!" The slugs jumped on strange bike-like devices, and sped off. 

Sonic and Sage found all the salt. It wasn't hard - the Chichi Bobo had piled it all up in one spot, to avoid consuming it during their rampage. Then Sonic turned, and spotted six strange hoverbikes speeding off into the bush. Sally was running after them shouting "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" "Whoa, change of plan!" said Sonic, running after the bikes, dragging Sage along behind. "Something's up with those bikes!" The two eventually caught up with one of the bikes, and grabbed onto the back. The slug riding it didn't seem to notice. The bikes were going really fast, now, they passed five miles in about five seconds. Sage could hardly hold on. Sonic crawled across the bike, trying to get within speech range of the driver. Suddenly, they turned a sharp corner. Sage was thrown off the bike into the bushes, and Sonic yelled as he lost all but one of the salt shakers he was carrying. All that vital ammo - lost. The bike rider heard Sonic's scream, and turned around. Sonic looked him in the eye and said "Uh..... STOP! I..I HAVE SALT!" The slug's eyes widened, and he capsized the bike. Sonic fell on his face in the dirt, and the bike landed on top of him. The rider ran into the bushes. 

Rupture heard a beep. He pulled the intercom out of the compartment in his gun. "Yeah?" He heard the voice of another bike-slug. "Sir, we have lost contact with hoverbike three. It has crashed." Rupture, not bothering to reply, put back the intercom. "Bike three's rider _never_ crashes a bike." he said to himself. He knew something was up. He picked up Knuckles, still unconcious, and threw him into the spaceship that had parked beside him. Then he entered it himself, and closed the door. The engines started up. 

Sonic lifted himself off the ground, and out from underneath the bike. He looked around - he was in the middle of the bush. He punched himself in the head. "STUPID!!!" Then he noticed something on the ground. It was a glass container. He looked inside, and saw a strange glowing orb, floating inside. "Cool!" he said. He picked up the container. "I wonder what it is?" He reached for the opening, and began to lift the lid... 

CHAPTER NINE: 

It was difficult to open, because there seemed to be a strong vaccuum inside. Suddenly, he heard an explosion. He dropped the container, and looked behind him. A spaceship was hovering towards him. Suddenly, a compartment opened in the front of the huge ship, and a missile came out, on a course for Sonic. Sonic yelled, and ran. He ran to the left, but the speedily approaching missile followed him. "Oh no! Heat seekers!" he said. He did some quick manuvers that caused the missile to hit a tree, but the blast knocked him head over heels. He could still hear the ship overhead, and then he heard the engine of another missile. He quickly picked himself up, and ran the other direction. The missile hit a boulder behind him, closer this time, and the blast sent him flying through the air. He landed on his back, and heard another missile. "I can't keep this up!" he said. He managed to get the missile to hit another obstacle, but this time, the blast nearly killed him. From all that running, the ship was now out of range, and it gave Sonic time to think. He ran as he thought, but a cliff made him come to a dead stop. He looked over the side - the ocean. It was a long way down. He looked around for anything that could possibly help him against a giant battleship. Eventually, with a lot of thinking, he found it - in the form of two flint stones. He snatched them up, and found a small log, and set to work flicking the stones together. He could see the ship, now - it was locking on. There was nowhere to run. "COME ON!" he ordered the stones. Eventually, the a small fire appeared on the dry log, which eventually became a large fire. Sonic heard another missile let loose from the ship. He picked it up, and aimed it like a bat at the missile. (He's not going to do what you think he's going to do - that would be suicide :P) The missile approached like lightning, and suddenly, Sonic threw the flaming stick into the air. He hoped his plan would work, otherwise he'd be roadkill. The stick flew into the air, and the missile continued on its path towards Sonic. Sonic preyed, and all of a sudden, the missile changed course. It turned in a wide arc - coming so close to the ground that Sonic felt the tip brush through his quills. The plan had worked. The missile was following the stick, now. Now Sonic had to hope that the stick would hit _its_ target. It went higher and higher, and then it hit the side of the spaceship with a clang. The missile continued to follow the stick, right up to the spaceship. The stick bounced off the ship, and the missile probably would have done the same, if not programmed to explode on impact. The explosion ripped a massive hole in the side of the ship, and it began to go down into the bushes. 

Sonic was breathing heavily when he heard the boom, and the spaceship skidding along the ground. Then there was silence, except for Sonic's heavy breathing. He looked again over the side of the cliff, and then steadily made his way into the bushes where the ship had crashed. He could hear no noises coming from the forest. It made him nervous - had Rupture been piloting it? And if so, had he been killed? Sonic wanted him alive - he was the only one who could prevent the destruction of Mobius. If he was killed, the plan would fail. He heard the leaves rustling behind him. He turned - nothing. He cautiosly walked backwards, getting more nervous. Suddenly, he walked into something, and felt it on his back. The barrel of a very large gun. His eyes widened, and he gasped deeply. "Hello, Mobian." came a voice behind him. Rupture's voice. "You are very clever! Which is all the more reason to destroy your race." Sonic was silent. He heard the gun begin to power up. Just as it reached its peak, he ducked and ran to the side, the blast missing him. Sonic ran as fast as his legs could take him (which was really fast.) Eventually, he came to the dead end - the cliff. Rupture followed him. "You are speedy for a Mobian creature!" he said. "However, you cannot continue to escape forever!" He aimed the gun again. Sonic was parylised with fear. The gun powered up again. A grin spread across Rupture's face. He aimed the gun at Sonic's head. Just then, something came speeding out of the bushes. It was an arrow. It hit Rupture's gun, causing it to fly out of his hands, and then the shooter, Sage, came running out and tackled the slug. Sonic was relieved. Sage had Rupture pinned to the ground. "Thanks, Sage!" he said. "No prob!" replied Sage Just then, Sonic remembered the salt shaker he was holding. He held it above Rupture's head. "Okay, slug!" he said. "Stop your friends and release Knux, or I'll have to spice you up!" He let a little bit of salt fall on Rupture's face, causing him to froth up a little. He screamed and coughed. "DO IT!!!" yelled Sonic. "The intercom is built into the gun!" Rupture said. "And I have to be holding it, it reads my handprints." Sonic went and fetched the gun, and handed it to Rupture, who was still pinned down. He pulled out the intercom, and pressed a button. "Planetary termination has been aborted." he said. "All units return to the village. You will be picked up." There was a silence. "I DON'T CARE!!!" he yelled, suddenly. "JUST DO IT! I AM YOUR COMMANDER!" Then he changed frequencies. "Rupture-Amon calling mothership. Send down a pick-up ship. The previous ship is no longer operational." He turned off the intercom, and Sonic grabbed it out of his hands, ripped it out of his gun, and threw it off the cliff. "And that is that!" he said. He smiled. "And you call yourselves a superior race!" Just then, Rupture jerked his head, and bit deeply into Sage's arm with his sharp teeth. Sage jumped up in pain, releasing the slug. He got up, and used his gun like a baseball bat, flinging Sage several metres into the air, landing dangerously close to the cliff edge. Rupture walked right up to the cliff, put one foot on Sage's stomach, and aimed his gun at Sonic, and shot the salt shaker right out of his hand. He grinned in victory. "What's the matter? Out of ammo? Now, even if you manage to get away, I can still push your friend off the cliff!" Sonic froze, trying to think. "This should teach you!" Rupture continued. "The Chichi Bobo are infinately superior to anything you can do! And any attempt to upstage one, is a means for a very violent death." He got ready to pull the trigger. 

CHAPTER TEN: THE FINAL CHAPTER? 

Rupture laughed maniacally. He had won - Sonic could do nothing to save both himself and Sage. Suddenly, Sonic heard a noise. Rupture didn't seem to hear it. "What are you staring at?" he demanded. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head. A very battered and bruised Knuckles was standing there. He grinned. "This is for my ancestors" he said. Then he lowered his fist, and gave Rupture a devistating upper-cut. The force from the blow sent Rupture flying off the cliff. He fell and fell, until finally, he reached the sea, and landed in it with a splash. There was silence for a little while, but then Rupture appeared on the surface again, splashing and kicking. "AAAAAAARGH!!!!!" he screamed. "YOUR PLANET HAS SALT WATER!!!!!!!" he splashed around in agony, and then finally sank again, with a lot of froth bubbling up to the surface. "Wow." said Sonic. "He wouldn't be safe at the beach, even if he DID swim between the flags." 

So, everything turned out okay. Rupture had been destroyed, and all the slugs had left Mobius. Shortly after the transport ship left, carrying all the remaining slugs, members of Knothole began to have ear-aches. Mobius' gravity was returning to normal, signifying that the moon-sized mothership was leaving orbit. It wasn't Apocalypse, after all. 

"Knux, what's wrong?" asked Sonic. Knuckles, with a bandage around his head, was gazing up at the sky. "It's not over, Sonic." he said. "This story has only just begun. It won't be over until I rescue my ancestors from wherever they might be." "Oh... Knuckles..." began Sonic. "I _know_ they're alive, Sonic." Knux interrupted. "I don't know where, but there are a ton of echidnas, some with MY blood, trapped somewhere in the universe, suffering. I cannot rest until they are rescued." 

Mecha Sonic entered Robotnik's office. Robotnik was staring out the window. "The spaceship has left orbit, sir." the robot reported. "Good." replied Robotnik, not turning around. "They obviously don't know or care that I have it. I'm sure it will be a great asset to me, one day." Mecha joined him at the window. "Good work in the successful capture of it, sir." he said. "Thank you Mecha." replied Robotnik. "It was good work. Very good work." Following their gaze out the window, was Robotropolis' hangar. And inside, lying next to the Flying Battery Battleship, was the spaceship used by Rupture. Better still, nobody knew the had it. It was the perfect hijacking operation. But for now, this is... 

THE END 

SERIES ONE CHRONOLOGY:   
1. Time and Space   
2. I Am Your Evil Twin   
3. Micro-Sonic   
4. Android Wars   
5. Chaos   
6. Diary of a Mad Assassin   
7. Fire in the Sky   
8. The Guests of Honor   
9. Time and Punishment   
10. The Secret Past   
11. Tale of a Rocket Knight   
12. Cyber Sonic   
13. Apocalypse

   [1]: http://www.stas.net/1/shax/Virtualden.html
   [2]: mailto:Shaxr@angelfire.com



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